A perfect day in Dublin

Insider tips and local knowledge are brilliant for uncovering those unusual haunts and hard-to-find places.

We asked three in-the-know characters who live in Dublin how they would spend a perfect day in the city. Choose to follow in the footsteps of a boutique owner, chef or journalist.

Boutique owner

First up is Ruth Ní Loinsigh, owner of Dublin boutiques Om Diva and Atelier 27 on Drury Street.

“My favourite day in Dublin is a Sunday. My two daughters (aged five and seven) and I get up early on the last Sunday of the month and have breakfast with friends at the Dublin Flea Market. Our kids love the muffins and homemade juices, while I usually go for the ‘special eggs’. Afterwards we all peruse the stalls, which sell everything from collectable crockery to Barbie dolls from the 70s!

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"After the market it’s a short stroll to Francis Street, Dublin's ‘Antique Quarter’ where we window shop and dream. As we come up the hill to Christ Church, you can smell the malt in the air coming from the Guinness Brewery – it reminds me of Saturdays spent on Meath Street as a child with my own mother. If you’re lucky you might catch the bells of Christ Church Cathedral ringing out in all their glory!

"We usually stop for the Sunday papers at the little newsstand in Fallon and Byrne, Dublin’s own gourmet food hall, and then head for St Stephen’s Green, a central park with a brilliant kids’ playground. We grab a coffee on the way from Lemon Creperie (the best latte in Dublin) and I read the Sunday magazines while the kids play on the swings and slides.

“We love to stroll down Grafton Street afterwards where the street performers keep every generation entertained; you will find anything from the U2 of the future, to exotic limbo dancers and giant bubble blowers! We might treat ourselves to lunch in Bewley’s Café, with a glass of chilled wine for the grown ups and ice cream for the kids. Sunday in Dublin is hard to beat!”

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